How Do Chaotic People Actually Get Things Done?
Chaotic people get things done by finding their orderliness percentage through a Big Five test, then channeling that limited order into a few priorities instead of everything at once.
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Why Do Orderly People and Chaotic People Get Things Done Differently?
Orderly people apply structure everywhere naturally. Chaotic people need to identify where they already have order, like brushing their teeth, and expand that pattern deliberately into fewer, chosen areas.
Paul Veth describes himself as chaotic, around 70% on the orderliness scale of the Big Five personality test, meaning roughly 70 out of 100 people are more orderly than he is. People often assume he's organized because he runs multiple businesses, but he says that's not true. What is true is that everyone, even a highly chaotic person, already has small pockets of order in daily life. Brushing your teeth, doing laundry, charging your car. Those are patterns you already follow because you know why you do them. That's the starting point: find where order already exists in your life, then decide where to expand it.
How Does the Big Five Test Measure Orderliness?
The Big Five orderliness score is not a literal percentage but a comparison: it shows how many people out of 100 are more orderly than you, helping you understand your natural capacity for structure.
Paul Veth explains his own score this way: at around 30% orderliness, it means that in a room of 100 people, 70 would be more orderly than him. That framing matters because it removes the idea of orderliness as good or bad and turns it into a practical measurement. You can be orderly, the trait is there, but it's not something you naturally lean into or enjoy doing often. In The Netherlands, tests like the one from personality.nl (also known as Personikide) measure this. In English, the Big Five test from Jordan Peterson's platform serves the same purpose. Knowing your number tells you how much structured effort you can realistically sustain.
How Do You Decide Where to Focus Your Orderliness?
Take your total orderliness percentage and assign it to a small number of priorities instead of spreading it across everything, because trying to be orderly everywhere just creates more chaos.
Paul Veth made a personal promise to channel his orderliness into three areas: his business, his health, and his family. Everything outside those three, he lets stay chaotic, and he says that's fine, sometimes even enjoyable. The mistake people make is trying to apply order to every goal on their list. If you write down ten goals and your orderliness score is low, mark three as your real priorities. Those three then become your new 100%, meaning you need to find your orderliness percentage again within each of them, because even a single priority like 'business' contains dozens of competing demands: features, growth, cash flow, customer service.
What's the First Step to Getting More Done?
Take a Big Five personality test to find your orderliness score, then use that number to decide realistically how many priorities you can actually manage at once.
Paul Veth's advice is simple and practical: get your orderliness score first, before you try to fix your productivity. Once you know the number, you know your ceiling. Then you attach a why to each priority, maybe a reward for success or a consequence for failure, because that's also part of knowing yourself. There is always a pattern behind getting things done, the same pattern as brushing your teeth or going to your checkups. You have the goal, you have the pattern, you follow the steps, and it stays clean, it stays done.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a chaotic person still be productive?
Yes. Paul Veth describes himself as around 70% chaotic on the Big Five orderliness scale, yet runs multiple businesses. The key is not becoming a different person, but recognizing the small orderly patterns you already have, like brushing your teeth, and deliberately applying that same discipline to a few chosen priorities instead of trying to organize everything.
What does an orderliness score in the Big Five actually mean?
It's not a literal percentage of how orderly you are, it's a comparison. A score of 30% orderliness means that out of 100 people, 70 would be more orderly than you. This reframes orderliness as a measurable trait rather than a moral judgment, and helps you set realistic expectations for how much structure you can sustain.
How many priorities should a chaotic person focus on?
It depends on your orderliness score. If your score is low, pick a small number of priorities, for example three, and treat those as your new 100%. If you're less orderly, you may only be able to sustain one real priority at a time. Trying to apply order across everything just leads back to chaos.
Which personality test should I use to find my orderliness score?
In The Netherlands, personality.nl (also known as Personikide) offers a reliable Big Five test. In English, Jordan Peterson's platform offers a widely used Big Five assessment. Both measure orderliness as one of the five core traits, giving you a practical number to plan your priorities around.
Why does knowing your personality traits help you get things done?
Knowing your orderliness score tells you how much structured effort you can realistically apply before running back into chaos. Instead of forcing yourself into a rigid system that doesn't match who you are, you channel your actual capacity into the few areas that matter most, business, health, family, or whatever you choose.
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Discussion
The idea here is that chaotic people have a real orderliness percentage, and the move is to channel that limited order into a few priorities instead of spreading it thin. What does that actually look like for you in practice, and where do you tend to waste your orderly energy on things that don't matter?
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